So many days of racing...Day's 2 and 3 of Tour De Burg+ a Local XC

   Day two of the Tour took us north of Harrisonburg to the Big Schloss part of the Shenandoah Valley. The first big day on the mountain bike was going to also have the biggest gnar factor with rock gardens that had the least amount of grooming. I'd never actually ridden Schloss area eventhough I used to stop and ride Wolfgap on drives between Harrisonburg and Gettysburg. This part of the George Washington National Forest is further away from the trail workers of Harrisonburg and has remained pretty raw.
       I was looking forward to unleashing my Blur LTc on the rock gardens and long descent time sections. One thing had me worried...Tubes in my tires. Why they were still in there, I don't know. I've run Tubeless for over six years and this time I was being a little lazy. I'm used to running my Stan's rims, but the Blur came with non-tubeless ready DT Swiss and the unknown was a little inimidating. Can I convert them? 'Yes' according to some. What do I do? "Run Stan's tape and throw in a valve..." Well, I was out of tape and still not confident, so I decided to let the tubes stay and see if tubeless was all that important....
      It is... Three flats in the first timed section later and a loss of 20minutes in the overall was not a good way to start the tour. I blame the bike...I shouldn't have had so much confidence going into the first long rock garden, but the Blur had disappeared from under me and as far as I knew I was moonbouncing down the trail. It felt so good that I didn't even feel the first snake bite the rear tube. A not so quick change was complicated by a tight bead/rim interface and I accidently pinched the new tube I was putting in.
       At this point the trail turned a little more flat but kept the rock profile and getting a rhythmn was proving to be difficult. Finally I got it rolling again and just after picking up some speed into the next few rock sections, I found myself off the bike fixing a front flat! That one I felt and heard but it was still at a speed I hadn't ever seen on the hardtail. With that flat fixed and most of the field in front of me, I managed to roll on without incident. Well there was one incident left which was seeing Dicky with his second flat and no tube. He'll hate me for saying it, but "I told you so." For some reason my third tube was a 29er and I passed it on to him. At the beginning of the day I had noticed he had no camelback and one tube. He seemed (without humbleness) certain that he wouldn't double flat since he never doubles. The Tour pounced on that smugness.
        After gathering back together at the sag wagon, we ate, drank, fixed bikes, added air to tires and sweated in the shade. A good hour after regrouping and imbiding, we remounted the bikes, paraded out of the stop and soon were getting reved up for the first sprint. I tried to lead out Ryan Fawley but he jumped early and missed first. We slowly regrouped and parade paced till the next timed section which was mostly downhill! It started with enough of a climb that I let myself relax and stay steady to the top, but once it started getting fast and technical I began picking off those who were a little more spritely on the climb. I wish it wasn't a timed section, because I would have loved to stop and taken pictures of the rock shoots and big gardens where everyone had to get off. They would be hard to clean at pleasure pace. If you think you're good, call me up and we'll go down to see just what you got. Good luck...
      I ended up taking some time back on the section and rolled in, in third place behind Sam Koerber and Nick Waite. Good Company!

Day Three: 98miles on Road/Gravel

     The TDB is a true adventure around the Shenandoah valley and doesn't limit itself to mountain bikes. The thing is, we are all mountain bikers first, so you have to imagine that to keep us entertained there will be a plenty of gravel. True to form we paraded out of town towards the first KOM of the day. Straight up the two mile climb on exposed gravel up Massanutten mountain's back side. I didn't bother with the KOM since there is a limited amount of energy in these legs and I've done that climb enough time over the years in the Hoo-Ha and the Tour. Let the others punish themselves. We had 98miles to go and it was going to be hot and hard.
     

        This is the climb. Generally exposed, always hot, never a treat. Here are the Garmin numbers.

It's important in the Tour to bring the right equipment. It doesn't pay to come with your light weight gear. Fit the bike to the situation, otherwise you'll be crying a lot more than necessary. Burly tires for the road, 25-28+ is a must. Still it's a day with stairways' to the heaven's so a full on cross tire might not be the right balance.

So hot! On the Eastern side of the Masanutten ridge we had the pleasure of crossing the North Fork river.

This is the TOur director, Miquel Carpong. A tour veteran, who was suffering back issues. He's been known to go bigger than all you. At the end of day three I managed to scrape back some more time in the GC. Stage two saw me down in about 20th overall. At the end of day three I moved to 15th. The competition is stiff and traveling up and down the results sheet is easier done going down. I was hoping to work my way into the top ten, and by miracle, maybe I'd get into the top 5. Tides turn quickly in the Valley, and though I wished no one a mechanical or a meltdown, I knew they were around any corner. Including for myself.

Le Tour is not the other Tour

       Le Tour De Burg is unlike anything else. There are certain facets that will never be fully explained, but the general rule of 'don't be a d***' is important. I'll give Dickey a pass since it's in his genes. For six day's we ride, imbide, race and whine together in a mocking homage to both stage racing and summer camp. The format is shamefully exclusionary, a previous year's rider approval gets you in, but that doesn't mean you couldn't show up and join.
      The problem with arriving unannounced and unknown is the fact that you have no idea what you are getting into. A mentor is highly reommended to help you navigate the political and social quagmire. Not to mention the riding. It's a two bike event; a rugged mountain bike and a fat tired road bike. I chose my SC Blur LTc and my Specialized Tarmac with Conti 700x28 hardscrapes. No other race I know of, expects you to ride the things we do with the bikes we bring. 26-29 hardtails, ridged singlespeeds (rare air) and 6" travel bikes all have their moments. The two road stages involve more gravel than most cross races. The climbing could choke you out. 6 days, 7 stages, 300 miles, 31,600 ft of steep! Two of those stages are less than 7 miles in length. Sooo that means, 5 stages 289 miles 30, 000ft.
      Besides the people and atmosphere, we return because the riding offers no apologies. Oh my, did we just start the day racing up 3,000ft of climbing in less than 10 miles? How about a road stage descent that drops another 3,000 feet in 19 miles, but the first 4 miles almost straight down on forest roads with rocks and ruts. If you've ever suffered the steep part of the climb up to check point 5 in the Shenandoah 100 then you've gone up what we came down. On our road bikes.
     As much as it sounds like a party on wheels, there is much pride on the line. Besides the standard jerseys of GC, KOM, Sprint and DFL, it has been proven that a new jersey could be made up if you are standout enough to create a new jersey. Ask Bruce Dickman about that. The famous mouth from the south pounded so much party pace off the front he earned an imprompt PP Pounder Jersey.

       It's not a Rapha Gentleman's race. We're ugly, haggard and way harder than that. Our clothes don't match, our bikes might get laughed at. They drink beer after the day is over, we drink in the middle of the ride. We have coast-offs. Le Tour eats tires and tubes. I carried three tubes, a rear derailleur, a leatherman, a lighter, superglue, ByKyle strap, CO2, a pump, a shock pump, extra gloves, extra food, and a variety of multi tools.
Here is day one.. a Prologue seven miles in length.

Day one's prologue: go up, come down! This is similar to the loop used in the Massanutten Hoo-Ha, except we ride up and descend in opposite directions. The new trail on the other side of the Massanutten access road has become the best addition to the mountain. I'd gone up it a few times, but going down has added a new flavor for Death to dish out.
Day one went good for me with a 6th place finish.

Day two not as good. First timed section sent me to 20th in GC place with a triple flat. I'll illuminate as the days pass, but for now enjoy some pics..

The weak ends. How Ashland Super-D inspired me, and crushed me.

     I made it to Ashland again this year. Last year was an introduction to a new riding style for me. I came away wanting to expand my riding. It's the urge to be progressing. To learn something new. I have to admit that doing 100's has kind of become stale. I still love it, but I needed a new challenge. I guess that is why they call it the Ashland Mountain Challenge. 

       This year I went out with a different bike, a full face helmet and more time in the air than ever before. I prepared by riding pumptracks and venturing to the Shenandoah Valley for long descents. Still I knew that I was less then sharp for an event that required more than bike handling skills. Being hit twice by cars, almost exactly two months apart and a team switch kept me off the bike more than desired. Still...What could I do?

        I went, I hammered, I took my game up another notch. Hit my first 20ft gaps, led people through sections that I needed a lead on last year, rode a train with 10-15 guys with world class pedigree. I tried to be smooth in the corners, I tried to follow the lines of former world champions. I asked Abigail Hippley to lead me into those big gaps in front of these bike aces. She nailed all eight, I cased (but cleared) three while she got cheers for doing what no one else would. I followed her through the last three gaps, including a creek gap. I'll take that.

 Mount Shasta in the background.

 That guy in the blue...Ross Milan. He won the 4x national championships last year, works for Yeti, and is a super guy.

 We turned the Santa-Cruz van into a post race dance club.

 Sport-truck waiting to pounce. Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of Ross.

 Waiting for the Santa-Cruz van to turn around and bring me my computer. Thanks Abby and Ariel!

Once in a blue moon....

 Some of my favorite things from New Years Day. Mummers Parade Philadelphia

It's as if I never left. Still racing. But now it's on a dirt track with petroleum as my energy food.
God save the Williams Grove Speedway. How can I begin to describe the visceral experience of overzealous gearheads, dirt tracks and velveeta cheese fries.

COsta RIca: Again

Hey ya'all. It's 5:30am and I'm up and ready for day one of El Reto De Los Volcanoes. Today we got 2 volcanoes on our hit list. Turrialba and Irazu`.
I'll be updating here and at Liberty Sports Mag's blog. It's a little too much to do new things for each so check it out over there....
Pre-Ride
Day before

pura vida

Mr. My old bike is for sale!

It's sad to say goodbye to an old friend, but I need to sell my first 29er frame. It's the lefty one with Inine wheels, XTR, and Formula brakes. Complete bike has to go. IF you got $3500 and a desire let me know.
Here is the link to it's profile. The wheels are a different color, but other than that it''s all the same.

Comb-Over Yards and Angry Plants.

As much as my generous guide, Dejay, tries to convince me that Arizona is the place to live, I've got to admit it scares me a little.
Everywhere I turn some plant is trying to jab me. If it wasn't for the dry air, serrated mountains in the back ground and an abundance of something called tex/mex I'd assume I was in Florida. It's a place that is flat, hot and dirty like a mangy dog. Charming. Still I can't say enough nice things about the people who are surviving here.

I mean I flew in from a town that was just shut down under 40" of snow. Philadelphia tried to hold me tight by closing the airport the day I was supposed to leave. If I had stayed I'd probably be dead, crushed underneath a snow laden limb in the Wissahickon while skiing.

Instead I was suckered into the desert to be on a 24hr 5 person coed team with Dejay and the Stan's NoTubes team.

Now I have a tan.

I haven't done a 24hr race in 7 years. Ever since I took a nap in the middle of a lap in Whistler in 2003. Since then, I've had an allergy to staying up past 1am to ride my bike.
Still, the coolest thing about the race was hanging out with the Stan's crew.
Getting there was a cluster. After a one day delay out of Philly I showed in Tucson without a bike. Andrew was a doll and picked me up, wondering where my bike was. After calling around for a few hours we put together one of Dejay's bikes. Fortunately my new, never ridden, SS Superfly came in at about one in the AM.

We had fun and managed to win while dethroning the Topeak/Ergon team. Sorry Jeff, Dave, Sonya, Yuki and Rebecca!

The hardest thing about riding in the desert is the number (all) of plants that want to stab me and leave their prickers behind.

After totally crushing the day and practicing our 1000 yard stares into the wee hours, I have had the pleasure of playing in Tucson with Dejay.

There isn't much green here, but the weather at this time of year makes riding a pretty comfortable activity. We rode up Lemmon Mtn, on Monday and touched snow on our hike-a-bike to the top of Bug Spring trail. The hour spin across Tucson on the single speeds was a little tedious after racing for 5 hours the day before, but the tequila stash on the trail and multiple flats on the way down gave us plenty of breaks, for me to silently cry in my thoughts.

The trails down the mountain were a bit more exciting than the 24hr race course with multiple chest-to-saddle drops, some cliff riding and Suarez cactus all around.


Yesterday we rode out of town to the Tucson Mountain Park. Another flat, across town ride resulted with us in the basin of a collapsed cauldron. We ran across Geoff Kabush getting handled by five men with shock pumps and some measuring devices. It pays to be a world cup racer.
Dejay and I took turns doing each others hair and riding down rock features.

Yeah AZ!

Rumors, lies and general vaguness, Plus Pictures!

There is a shift in the trade winds these days. Like climate change (global warming), the economy and an endangered species' status things have to change. Some call it a cycle, or a balance of the universe's equilibrium, but I'm not sure where I'm going to file this one. Maybe label it with my new favorite term, a nearing to "zero-entropy" or moving my body to room temperature.

No I'm not dying, but I am shifting my focus away from full-time racing to fun-time racing and advocacy. I've joined TeamCF

This is a pretty exciting shift for me. Now I'll have a team close to home, a full suspension big-wheeled bike and a bike with one gear! Thanks to Gary Fisher for supporting the Cystic Fibrosis cause.

maybe I'll dust off..

It might be time to pull out the Louise the fixie pixie. Starting to feel better!

Where oh where

I've been off exploring the very nearby world in which I live. In case it wasn't public knowledge, I've had two bulging discs between C5, 6, and 7. So I've been laying low. Enjoying finding new things. Like this clock..
And appearing in major magazines as a hairy me.

I'm having a great time.

I sure do like this...

Raffle Winners!!!

Last night I ventured to the far north to speak at the Team Bulldog H2h Race series Banquet.

Other than a stop by mr. officer on the way home for a headlight out, everything went great. It was a huge crowd who came to eat and get their awards.

We also did the Raffle drawing and below are the winners of the 2009 IFRacing team fundraiser.

Thanks to everyone who threw down for me and the team. It's such an important part of us surviving through our season.

And here you are...

Frame and Fork!: Susan Amick
Stan's Wheelset: Lamphier
Time Pedals: Brandon Laurman
WTB Tires: Ken Gilbert
WTB Saddle: David Lowe
Tifosi Glasses: Larry Camp
Ergon Grips: Ron Sacks


Yeah!!!

So Much in so little

This weekend I've been invited to bore people to death at the annual Team Bulldog banquet. I'll be showing slides and giving about my highly opinionated thoughts on all things cycling. The metaphors will be flowing.

On top of all that gratuitous metaphor composing, I'll be finally doing the drawing for the Frame and Fork. Yeah!

Other news:

My neck is bulging. Specifically between the C 5/6 and 6/7. It's not terrible, but I do have to rest it a bit.

We'll talk soon.

The Raffle has been ---Delayed

Team IF has come upon an unfortunate situation. It turns out the IFRacing Road team has had it's sponsors leaving them holding an empty bag. After a full year of racing and killing it, their sponsors have reneged on their financial commitment to the team. This has left the team in need of raising some money to pay a couple of bills.
So to help the road brethren, we are pushing the drawing back to November 15th.

To help the situation please go to BIKEReg and buy a couple tickets!

Thanks for your patience!

Getting it back..

I've been pretty low lately. Hard to feel motivated when the bike creates nausea. The effect of a few fall rides is starting to work at the recharge.